


The Story of Kody Grey: New Life, New Beginnings

by hyenafur



Series: The Story of Kody Grey [3]
Category: Zootopia (2016)
Genre: Bunnyburrow (Zootopia), F/M, Ghostbusters Reference, Historical References, Wolfsberg
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-01
Updated: 2017-09-01
Packaged: 2018-12-22 16:33:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 16,393
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11971299
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hyenafur/pseuds/hyenafur
Summary: Two years after the events of The Beginning and Returning Home, Josephine Grey and Hubert Hemming are contemplating getting married, but that comes with it's own nuances, especially when your potential mother-in-law is still thinking with a pack mentality.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This story is currently a Work In Progress. New chapters will be added/updated as the story continues

Josephine Grey let out a long sigh as she leaned against Hubert Hemming while the two gently rocked back and forth on the old porch swing. The Summer was over, and he was going to be headed back to Wolfsberg. The vixen and the wolf had managed to grow very close over the near four months Hubert had been helping on the farm, even with the week she’d dropped everything to go see her son’s dying father.

“Jo-sef-een,” the gigantic, muscular wolf said as he held the soft yellow pelted vixen against him, one massive arm wrapped around her middle, “I don’t wants t’go.”

“I don’t wants ya t’go either, sugar wolf,” Jo replied as she gently rested her head against that broad chest while one hand gently rested on the larger canine’s thigh.

“Does this me we ain’t t’gether no more, Jo-sef-een,” the wolf started to pout, sounding more like an overgrown puppy than an adult beta male.

“Course it don’t, Huby,” the vixen purred back as she warmly nuzzled into her boyfriend’s chest, “We can still sees one’nother. Wolfsberg ain’t that far away.”

Hubert’s face started to light up at the thought of them continuing their still budding relationship. “Ya means it? Ya wants t’cum visit?”

Slowly, Jo leaned up to give the canine a lick on the cheek, something that made him let out a goofy “a-hyuck,” that only made the fox let out a giggle. “Course I means it. We cud git t’gether erry week’nd if ya wants.”

“I wants t’, Jo-sef-een,” the wolf replied as he started to melt, his much larger tail starting to smack against the bench the two were sitting in, making a sound like a bass drum. The vixen churred softly as she leaned in to nuzzle under Hubert’s chin, “I wants t’ too, sugar wolf.”


	2. Defiance

Kody Samson Grey’s arms were crossed over his chest, a very unhappy look covering his face as his ears pinned themselves to his skull. The kit had just turned six years old only a few days ago, but he wasn’t happy with this last minute “present” his mother and Mister Hubert had sprung on him.

“I don’ts wanna move, mama,” he said in a defiant huff as he gave his mother and Mister Hubert a stern glare. Unfortunately for him, his mother wasn’t having any of it.

“Sugar fox, Mister Hubert and I’ve been chattin’ bout it fer a year now, and we both think that it’ll be better fer us if we move t’Wolfsberg,” the vixen replied as she looked down at her son.

“But I likes it here, mama,” the kit retorted, still trying to stay his ground, “I gots friends here! I don’t knows nobody in Wolfsberg.”

His mother let out a long sigh, “Kody. Sugar fox. Th’only friends ya gots here are yer cousin and his friend, Travis.”

“Nuh-uh! I gots friends other’n them!”

“Who?”

The kit paused as he tried to think. “Well… I gots some bunny friends,” he replied, but Jo shook her head. “Kody, ya knows they ain’t yer friends.”

As much as it pained the motherly vixen to say that, it was true, something that just made her son scowl more as he recalled what had happened earlier in the year.

 

The whole town heard about what happened, then again, it was a small town so nothing stayed silent for long, especially when several of the townsfolk got the Zootopia Gazette. Unfortunately for Kody, not everyone decided to offer condolences. He’d taken the album his mother had made to Mrs. King’s Sunday School Class the Sunday after his mother had made it. The elderly lioness had offered her sincerest sympathies to the young kit, but he decided to not take them, yet.

Kody had been so proud to show off the pictures of his parents, pointing and announcing proudly how his father was a college graduate, how his daddy told him he would always love him, and how he was related to Robin Hood. Gideon, Travis, Bobby, and Miguel were the only ones who were even remotely interested in what Kody had to say, even though Gideon had already heard his cousin talk about this very thing earlier in the week. Unfortunately, the second Kody finished, the Hopps, Baxter, and the Tupuna kits took it upon themselves to harass the young fox, bringing him to tears. Mrs. King had to step in, but that didn’t stop the torment.

Kody had been outside looking over the album when the eldest of the bunnies, one of the Tupuna bucks decided to snatch the book from the tod’s hands. He’d taken great pride in taunting the fox as he pulled pictures out of the book.

“You iz jist a stupid fox,” the six year old had said with a self-satisfied smirk while tossing some of the pictures on the ground until he turned the page to the family tree. “You ain’t no great-great-grandtod of no Robin Hood. He ain’t even real,” the buck taunted as he ripped the heirloom right off the page.

Kody had been scrambling around, picking up the photos while he was being taunted. He’d been told to turn the other cheek, and he’d always done that, but when that Tupuna buck said those words and ripped out the family tree, the fox had been pushed just too far.

In all honesty, Kody didn’t remember exactly what happened. He remembered that smug look on the buck’s face as he held the family tree there, then he saw the bunny’s eyes go wide with fear, then he remembered Mrs. King pulling him off the rabbit, breaking the two apart with the Tupuna kit screaming and crying and rolling around on the ground while clutching his face.

Kody had of course wound up in Pastor Tony’s office. The gigantic feline asked only one question, something that made the fox begin to sob as he related the whole story. It wasn’t until the pastor heard Kody’s side that he allowed the Tupunas into his office.

The bunny’s parents had started out by saying they would press charges, saying that he’d gone savage, that was until Pastor Tony told Kody to tell them what he’d told the older tiger. They of course didn’t believe him at first until Mrs. King entered holding a photo album with pictures stuffed into it. With the evidence there, the Tupuna parents couldn’t fight back, though they still wanted an apology, something that Kody downright refused to give them. They had started to argue when the Sheriff showed up, but the Sheriff told them that their son could easily be charged with destruction of private property. In the end, from what Kody heard, that Tupuna boy had a mighty sore rump when his parents got ahold of him, after he’d gotten stitches from the emergency clinic.

 

Kody’s expression of defiance didn’t start to melt, even as the memory faded. “I don’t wants t’move mama,” he replied in a huff.

Jo let out a soft sigh as she slowly moved towards her son, gently kneeling down in front of him. “Wolfsberg isn’t that far away, sugar fox. We can always come visit on weekends. Besides, you’ll like Wolfsberg. There’s lots of foxes there. Mister Hubert and I think you’ll make lots of friends.”

The kit’s iron will slowly started to soften. “Really, mama?”

“Yes, sugar fox.”

Kody chewed on his bottom lip as he looked at his mother, then over to Hubert. “Mama, are you gonna marry Mister Oobert? Is that why you want us to move?”

His mother blushed softly as the wolf seemed to turn an odd shade of pink. “We’ve been talkin’ bout it.”

The kit wasn’t sure what to think. He did like Mister Hubert, and he did like the idea of having a father. “Mama, if Mister Oobert is my new daddy, does that mean Grampa Rick and Gramma Ruby ain’t gonna me by gramma’n’grampa no more?”

Jo shook her head. “They’re still yer gramma and grampa, sugar fox. It just means you have three grammas’n’grampas.”

Kody thought about it for a second. Having three grandmothers and grandfathers would mean he would get more presents on Christmas and his birthday, but it also meant that his visits to Ruby and Rick wouldn’t be as frequent. “Mama, iz we gonna still visit Grampa Rick and Gramma Ruby if you and Mister Hubert get married?”

“Of course we are, Kody.”

That iron will finally caved in. “I… I guess I’m okay with us moving, mama.”

Jo leaned in to give her son a kiss on the top of his head, “Thank you, sugar fox.”


	3. Time to Tell Mama

The one thing that Jo hadn’t told her son about was actually when they would be moving. The vixen still wasn’t 100% sure when that would be. Hubert had told his parents he was dating someone, but she had yet to meet George and Evie Hemming even though she’d been regularly visiting the wolf over the past year.

The vixen wasn’t sure what the two wolves would think of her dating their son. People reacted to interspecies dating differently, and it wasn’t like wolves and foxes didn’t have a history. They did, and not a very good one. Back in the savage times, wolves had no problem hunting and killing foxes, and foxes would often steal kills from wolves. The mutual distrust still lingered between the two species, though Hubert never seemed distrustful, probably because the only thing she’d managed to steal from him was his heart.

Jo let out a long, soft sigh as she gently leaned back on her heals, the feel of the taller, muscular canine’s chest lightly pressing into her shoulder blades while the two watched Kody scamper off. “Do ya thinks yer folks’ll like me’n’Kody?”

The big softie of a wolf leaned in to give her a gently lick on the cheek. “I thinks mama’n’daddy’ll jist eat you two up,” he replied before realizing what he’d said, “I don’t means all literal-like. I means all meta… meta-for-ickally.”

Jo let out a giggle as her eyes closed before letting out a sigh. She felt safe in those massive arms. “I knows whatcha meant, sugar wolf. Iz jist concerned is all.”

“I knows, Jo-sef-een,” he replied as he gave her cheek another lick while his hands gently started to rub over the vixen’s belly, something that made the fox blush and murr. Her long fluffy yellow-red tail blushed against the wolf’s thigh while he pulled her in closer. She could feel something poking at her backside through the canine’s pants and her own sun dress.

“Yer getting’ ‘cited again,” Jo churred playfully, something that made Hubert let out a blushing a-hyuck. “I cain’t help it, Jo-sef-een,” Hubert blushed, “I jist loves yew s’much.”

“I loves ya too, sugar wolf,” the fox murred sweetly before giving him a playful grind, “But yer gonna have t’wait.”

The massive wolf pouted but the vixen leaned up to lick his chin, “Jist fer when errybody’s sleepin’.”

Hubert still pouted as he slowly ground against his girlfriend. “But I don’t wants t’wait, Jo-sef-een.”

Jo murred softly, “All right. We can do sumthin’ quick like, on one condition.”

The canine whined more, “What’s that?”

“Ya gots t’tell yer maw’n’paw yer datin’ me.”

“But I already tolds’em, Jo-sef-een.”

“Did ya tells’em I’m a fox?”

“N… no,” Hubert replied in a low voice. Jo gave him another firm grind, “Ya gots t’tells’em I’m a fox.”

“I promise,” the wolf replied in a heavy pant, that hot breath washing over the fox’s cheek, something that made the vixen close her eyes and let out a gentle moan.

“Oh sugar wolf,” Jo groaned as her body shivered, “Ya gave me th’vapors.”

“Is that good?”

The fox spun round and pressed her self tightly into Hubert, “It sure is.” Gently, Jo leaned in to kiss her boyfriend on the lips, “Jist sumthin’ quick.”

The gigantic wolf panted, “J… Jo-sef-een… I don’t thinks that’ll be a probl’m.”

The vixen giggled as she nodded her head towards the bathroom.


	4. Evie Hemming

Evie Blake Hemming was sitting in the reading room of the family estate, her eyes scanning over the words in one of the many volumes of classical literature that lined the shelves, when a well-dressed, well-groomed, tuxedo wearing wolf wandered in holding a phone.

“Beggin’ yer pardon, madam,” the other canine started to say as he pushed the cordless phone towards the female wolf, “But Master Hubert is on the line. He wishes to speak with you.”

The alpha female slowly closed her book as her golden eyes gradually wandered away from the old, faded brown book cover and up to the head butler. “I’ll take th’call, Atkins,” Evie replied in a cool voice that would make a glacier shiver.

One dainty hand reached out to swipe the phone from the gamma wolf’s hand. The gray furred male nodded his head and slowly slipped out of the room as the alpha pressed the receiver to her ear. Oddly enough, her mood did a complete one-eighty when she started to speak. “Hubert! How is my baby boy? Y’ain’t gettin’ in no trouble, is ya?”

“Naw mama. I ain’t in no trouble,” a happy voice cried out over the phone, “Iz sorry I ain’t called you, mama. Iz jist been s’busy.”

“Oh Hubert! I’m sorry I ain’t called ya. Iz s’happy to hear you,” Evie almost howled back, her tail wagging against the back of the large leather chair she was sitting in.

“It’s okay, mama,” Hubert replied, though, there was a strange pause on the phone, something that Evie picked up on. “Is you sure you’z all right? Ya needs me’n’paw t’cum over’n straighten thing out?”

“No mama. Iz fine.”

“Then why ain’tcha talkin’ as much as ya usually do?”

“Well, mama. Ya knows how I told ya I gots me a girlfriend,” Hubert started out slowly.

“Course I do. I ain’t seen ya that happy since ya gots that Universe Conflict toy when ya was ten,” Evie mused, “What abouts’er?”

“Well,” the younger beta wolf paused, “Ya promise y’ain’t gonna be upset?”

“Y’ain’t put a litter in her, didja?”

“No mama, it ain’t like that,” he said defensively.

“Why not? Ya knows I wants sum granpup! Specially since yer brothers cain’t seem t’find theyselves a gal. I ain’t sure if they’s queer er if theys just nachurly repel any gals they see. And yer lil sister ain’t found n’one yet.”

There was a huge pause on the phone as Huber attempted to figure out what to say next. Luckily for him, his mother managed to break the silence, “Is she over in Bunnyburrah? Is that why y’ain’ts brought her t’visit?”

“Yes, mama. She lives over in Bunnyburrah.”

“Is she a pretty wolf? She ain’t no alpha, is she? I member when ya brought home that Per-nelope. I knews she was trouble first time I dun set my eyes on’er.”

“No, mama. She ain’t no alpha.”

Evie let out a deep sigh of relief, “Oh that’s wonderful, Hubert. Takes such a load of m’mind. I don’t wants ya t’go through that again. I jist bout ripped her throat out.”

“She ain’t no wolf either, mama.”

His mother just about dropped the phone. “Please tell me yain’t datin’ no prey gals.”

“No mama. She ain’t no prey gal neither.”

There was another sigh of relief, that was quickly replaced with a gasp when her son added, “She’s a vixen.”

“Vixen,” Evie howled out, “Yain’t been foolin’ round with the bosses daughter, has ya?”

There was a pause before Hubert let out a goofy a-hyuck over the phone. The alpha female just about fell out of her chair. Not only a vixen but the boss’s daughter.

“Iz you all right, mama,” her son asked in genuine concern.

“I… Iz fine, Hubert. But I don’t thinks ya should continue with this vixen. It ain’t right and it ain’t nachral.”

“But I likes Jo-sef-een, mama. She’s jist so sweet’n’soft’n’purdy. I thinks y’ll likes her too, mama. Especially her lil kit.”

“Lil kit,” the alpha howled out, something that echoed through the halls of the two-story plantation house.

“Yes, mama. She’s gots a kit. He’s a might scurred round strangers, but I thinks you’n’pa will likes him. Jo-sef-een’n’Iz been talkin’ bout visitin’. Is that okay with ya, mama?”

Evie wasn’t exactly sure what to think. She wanted her son to be happy, but at the same time the thought of him marrying a vixen had almost given her a stroke and a heart attack simultaneously. She wanted her son to marry a nice beta wolf, settle down on the family plantation, and produce the next generation of the Hemming family. Him settling down with a vixen, especially one that already had a kit, went against every wish. She would of course, have to discuss this new development with her husband, George, but having them over wouldn’t be a bad idea. Evie could evaluate this vixen for herself to see if she was worthy of becoming part of the Hemming pack.

“Mama?”

“That’s okay with me, Hubert. Your father and I will look forward to it.”

“Thanks mama,” her son replied before adding, “I loves you, mama.”

“I loves you too, Hubert,” Evie said, hearing her boy hang up the phone. She waited a few seconds before howling out, “GEORGE!”


	5. George Hemming

George Jackson Hemming slowly sauntered into the reading room. The well-dressed gray wolf had his thumbs in his white double breasted jacket with peaked lapels, his tail slowly swishing from side to side. “Ah say what’s the trouble, sugar plum?”

His wife was staring back at him, the black pelted female’s fur standing on end as she let out a growl. “It’s boutcher boy, Hubert.”

“Ah say! Lam sakes, sugar plum! He’s yo boy too ya knows. He ain’t jist only mine when he dun gone‘n’bit off more’n’e c’n chew,” the light gray wolf in all white, save for a black Kentucky Bowtie said as he slowly wandered over to his favorite leather chair. He reached into his breast pocket, yanking out a white handkerchief to brush off the brown tanned leather seat before sitting down. “Ah say, what has that boy got his self inta?”

“It ain’t a what, honey. It’s a WHO!”

George blinked a few times. “Now whaddaya mean b’that, sugar plum? You’n’I both knows he gots a gal, and theys both growed. It’s only natural theys been getting feisty. By the way Hubert sounded when he told us last year, it sounded like they was two peas in a pod.”

Evie growled, “It ain’t that they’s two peas in a pod, George. He’s been datin’ a fox!”

“A fox?”

“Yes! A vixen! And it’s worse!”

“Worse,” George questioned as he leaned forward in his seat, his wife crossing her arms as she pressed her back into her own chair. “That Jezebel’s his boss’s daughter. And on toppa that, she has herself a kit!”

The gray wolf raised an eyebrow as he leaned back, one white pantleg sliding up to drape itself over the opposite thigh while he began to think. After a few moments, George began to muse, “Ah say, honey, y’always did wants grandpups.”

The black wolf snorted, “I wants grandpups! But I don’t wants no-one else’s grandkit!”

“Ya knows erry time Hubert tried t’date a wolf it ended up makin’ the bishop s’mad he kicked in th’stained glass win-ders,” the husband replied before reaching over to ring a small bell sitting on the end table next to his chair.

Slowly, Atkins wandered in, his gaze moving over to George. “Master Geroge, can I gets ya anythin’,” the other gray colored wolf in the black tuxedo said as he stood tall. The white suited wolf smiled, “Ah say, Atkins, cud ya grab us a pitcher a lem’nade? Philippe and Fleurette make th’best lem’nade I err had.”

The black clothed wolf nodded his head, “Yessir. I’ll gets a pitcher’n two glasses, sir.” Atkins quickly turned around and slid out of the reading room as George turned his attention back to his wife. “Ah say, Honey, since this conversation may git a might sour, I thinks we might as well drink somethin’ sweet.”

Evie let out a snort, but didn’t argue as she leaned into the back of her chair, arms crossed over her chest and hands shoved under her armpits. “I don’t likes th’idear of my Hubey with a vixen. It ain’t nachral. He shud settle down with a nice wolf, like Marian.”

George shook his head, “Marian is a sweet gal, sugar plum, but they ain’t never been interested in one-nother. B’sides, I hears she already nabbed herself a nice alpha.”

The motherly wolf blinked, “An omega marrying an alpha!”

“Ah knows, Evie. It’s strange’n’all, but times is differnt from when we was pups,” he replied as he leaned into his own seat, “Does Hubey like this vixen?”

His wife let out a low growl, “He’s head over tail fer her.”

George slowly nodded his head as Atkins returned with the pitcher of lemonade and two glasses, slowly setting them down on the coffee table between the two married canines before disappearing yet again.  The husband slowly leaned forwards, his hands reaching out to pour the cool liquid into the two glasses.

“Ah say, sugar plum, maybe ya should give this vixen and her kit a chance,” he said as he took a swig of the sweet yellow liquid, “Ya might likes ‘em.”

Evie let out a growl as her ears lay flat against her skull. “Ya knows I wants th’best fer Hubey, but him and a Jezebel… I thinks she’ll jist break his lil heart, jist like that floozy, Per-nelope.”

Her husband shook his head, “Ah say, sugar plum, Ah wants th’best fer Hubert too, but ya knows he ain’t never gonna find no wolf gal.”

“He ain’t been lookin’,” she snorted before leaning in to take her own glass of lemonade into her hand.

“Oh, he’s been lookin’, sugar plum, but he ain’t found one. He told me that mosta th’m is scurred uh him.”

“Why would they be scurred of’m?”

George chuckled, “Ya knows how he’s always been a big boy?”

“Yes,” Evie replied, not sure where her husband was going with this until something in the back of her mind clicked, “OH! Ohhhhhhh.”

The female blinked a few times, “Was that why that Dane gal was hangin’ round him s’much?”

Her husband chuckled, “Iz suspectin’ so.”

The mother snorted, “I never did likes’er.”

George let out a hefty laugh, “Ah say, Evie, ya never liked any of the gals who hung round him.”

“Theys always been floozies and jezebels,” she retorted before finally taking a drink of the lemonade. “Mmm,” the wolf murred softly, “Jist the perfect mount uh sweet.”

“Sure is. Now, sugar plum,” her husband replied, “I thinks we shud give Hubey’s vixen a chance. Cain’t hurt none.”

Evie’s ears flicked about on the top of her head, as she mulled it over. “Fine. I’ll meets’m but I ain’t makin’ no promises that I’ll likes’m.”


	6. Start Spreading the News

The pleasant thing about Summer was not having to pull Kody out of school. The only real downside was pulling Hubert away from work, though, Amos didn’t complain. Hubert could do the work of two normal farm hands, six of them if they were bunnies, which meant the farm was well ahead of schedule.

“Y’ain’t gots nuthin’ t’worry bout, darlin,” the old, slightly graying red fox said with a smile on his muzzle as he gave Jo a gentle pat on her shoulder. “Yer brudder’n’me c’n handle thangs wile yew’n’Hub’rt iz gone. Ya’ll run long now’n has yerselfs a wunnerful time!”

The younger vixen in jeans and a bright yellow t-shirt leaned in to give her father’s cheek a gently kiss. “I will, daddy.”

Kody on the other hand was having his doubts about the trip. The only wolves he knew were Crazy Old Garth and Hubert, but that wasn’t entirely true. The kit didn’t really know Crazy Old Garth personally. He knew of Garth from his mother and grandparents, but the young tod had met the old wolf. Once. When the crazy canine did his weekly run into town.

Kody hadn’t been much older than three, but the wolf scared the bejesus out of the little kit. Between the gravelly, ruthless, loud voice, constant growling, glowing yellow eyes, jet black fur, angry near devilish look the wolf was giving everyone on the street, and the continuous demand that everyone who spoke to him call him, “Master Wolf,” Crazy Old Garth had the tod cry and nearly wet himself with fear. Luckily for Kody, his mother had been there to protect him, though his body placement and death grip on her tail and leg had almost made Jo trip on him.

The sheer memory of that brief meeting as the kooky elderly canine passed them on the sidewalk was enough to make Kody instinctively squeeze his mother’s paw tightly and press into her side. The kit’s entire body was quivering as his tail tucked between his legs.

Jo let out a yelp as she ripped her hand out of the tod’s grip, staring down at him with an upset look crossing her face. “Kody! That hurt,” she chuffed. She was just about to scorn her son when she saw him look up at her with pleading eyes.

“I… I don’ts wanna go, mama,” the frightened kit whimpered. “I don’ts wanna meet Misser and Missus Emmin’. W… What if they’z like Ol Garth?”

The vixen gently put a hand on her son’s head, slowly stroking between his ears to soothe his fear. “Awh, sugar fox,” she cooed, “Iz sure they ain’t nothin’ like that crazy ol wolf.”

“A… are ya sure, mama,” the boy pouted, still holding onto her leg.

“Iz sure Iz sure, sweetheart,” Jo replied, her voice hiding any doubts she had of her own. “From what Mister Hubert tells me, they’re just as sweet as him.”

Kody let out a sniffle as he nodded his head. His mother’s confidence eased the lingering fear in his mind as he looked up at her. She was smiling down at him, her hand still on the back of his head, still stroking between his ears.

“Ya ready t’go, Kody,” Jo asked softly. Her son slowly nodded his head up and down, “Yes, mama. Iz all packed’n errything.”

The motherly fox gently leaned down to give him a gentle kiss on the top of his head. “Then let’s head to the truck, sugar fox.”

Kody nodded his head, slowly peeling himself away from his mother’s leg to take her hand. His mother leaned in to give Grandpa Amos a quick peck on the cheek before heading off. “I’ll sees ya in a few days, daddy.”

“Ya’ll have fun now,” the old vulpine called out as he watched his daughter and grandtod wander down the porch stairs and towards Hubert who was standing next to the fox family’s beat up old station wagon. Jo gave the gigantic wolf a warm kiss on his cheek as her son scrambled into the back seat before sliding his seatbelt on. The young kit let out a snort as he saw his mother kissing Mister Hubert not before adding a little, “EEW!”


	7. A Short History Lesson

The car ride to Wolfsberg was fairly silent, save for the music playing over the radio. Kody was more occupied with the scenery than with the music, watching the rows and rows of crops pass by the window. The young tod turned to look at his mother and Mister Hubert. The sight made the kit’s face contort with disgust. His mother had her hand on the large wolf’s, giving it a gentle squeeze.

“Bleh,” the fox muttered before finally asking, “Are were there yet?”

Josephine’s ears perked up at her son’s question, the older vixen slowly turning her head to look at her son. It was obvious by the way he looked at her that he was a little disgusted at his mother holding hands with Hubert, something that she knew he’d get over when he started to grow up.

“Not yet, sugar fox,” she cooed softly, but her son didn’t let up with the questions.

“Are ya sure, mama? How do we knows when we’ll get there? Is it like Bunnyburrow, but with more foxes? Why is it called Wolfsberg, mama,” the kit asked, barely pausing between each sentence as he bombarded his mother with his own curiosity.

Jo tried to absorb every question before answering. “I’m sure, Kody. I drove this road a long time ago with you,” the vixen started to say, but was immediately interrupted by her son.

“But mama, I ain’t never been t’Wolfsberg b’fore.”

“I don’t spect ya to r’member, sugar fox. You was jist a few weeks old. We went not long after ya were born,” the older fox retorted in a sweet, motherly tone that somewhat satisfied her son’s statement. With the kit contemplating her answer, Jo took the opportunity to reply his other questions. “You’ll know when we’re there, sugar fox. You’ll see lotsa trees along the road and more’n’more lakes’n’rivers.”

“Really, mama?”

“Really, sugar. And Wolfsberg ain’t like Bunnyburrow but with foxes. It’s fulla foxes and wolves, but the middlatown ain’t as small. They’s got lots of old buildin’s, jist like home, but they’s gots’em on both sides of the street,” Kody’s mother said as she tried to accurately recall that visit almost six years ago.

“They’s got lots of lovely willer trees errywhere in town, and they’s got lots of lovely flowers and vines on all the houses,” Jo trailed off, falling back into her vivid memory of the place.

Kody listened intently, absorbing everything she said until she began to trail off. “But mama, why’zit called Wolfsberg?”

The question snapped the older vixen back into reality. In all honestly, she wasn’t exactly sure, but then again, she’d never actually asked that question. Jo slowly turned her head to look over at Hubert. “I’z gissin’ it’s cuz it was founded by wolves,” she said or was it asked, the fox’s words more like a blending of the two as she looked at her sturdy canine lover.

“That’s right, Jo-sef-een,” the wolf replied, saving his sweetheart from any embarrassment. “Wolfsberg wuz founded by wolves back in them olden times since the first settlers was mostly wolves. Course, theys almost changed the name ahunnert years back,” he said, his attention moving between the road, the vixen, and her son.

“Why’d they wants t’change th’name,” Kody piped in, his own curiosity getting the better of him.

Hubert continued his story, as he watched the highway. “Well, bout ahunnert years ago back when Z’topia wuz founded, somea the townsfolk round Wolfsberg, Todsglen, and Meleston didn’t like the idear’a being part of a country rule by prey critters, so a bunch of em gots t’gether’n looked at making theys own country.”

The two foxes blinked as they stared at the wolf. “Really,” Josephine queried in disbelief. She’d never heard of this tale, then again, there might be a reason for it.

“Really,” Hubert replied as he continued his tale, “Theys all met up in Wolfsberg t’talk bout the whole thing. Theys threw round all kindsa idears. Some of’m wanted t’call the place Howlandia ‘n’rename Wolfsberg to Howlsville. Course, that didn’t sit right with erryone, specially since not errybody was wolves. Eventually, erryone greed t’call the new place Sherw’d, course by the time theys got all that hammered out to bring it to the towns, the towns had all greed t’join the new gov’mint. Course, they did like the name Sherw’d, s’that what the county dopted as it’s name when the territory became a state.”

“I ain’t never heard that story before,” Jo said as she looked right at Hubert.

“If’n ya wants, daddy’s got th’riginal count of the whole meetin’. I’m sure he’ll letcha take a gander at it. Course, we cud g’down to th’courthouse. They’s gots a whole wing set up bout the histry of the county,” the wolf replied, giving the vixen a casual glance.

Jo let out a playful giggle when he mentioned courthouse, though Kody didn’t really seem to understand why she was giggling. The vixen gave the wolf a playful shove on his massive forearm before turning her head to look back at her son. “Wouldja like to see the court house, sugar fox?”

“Iz gissin’ so, mama,” the young tod responded before deciding to ask, “Mama, is we going to an o-tel?”

His mother smiled. Her son still had some problems with h’s for some reason, but then again, she wasn’t entirely surprised. “Well,” the vixen said before turning to look at Hubert, “It was sumthin’ I needed t’dress.”

Hubert smiled happily, taking his eyes off the road for a brief second. “You ain’t gonna stay in no ho-tell Jo-sef-een! We’z gonna stay at mama’n’daddy’s!”

“You sure that’s a good idear, sugar wolf?”

The massive canine almost melted like a stick of butter when he heard the vixen call him that. “It’s a wunderful idear, Jo-sef-een. If’n we’z lookin’ at bein’ t’gether, we gots t’make sure mama’n’daddy likes ya.”

Jo chewed on the side of her lip, her ears flicking and flitting about the top of her head before she finally said something. “All right, sugar wolf.”

“Mama’n’daddy’r jist gonna loves ya’ll t’pieces!”


	8. Almost There

Kody realized his mother was right. After the short history lesson by Mister Hubert, the tod’s attention returned to the window, staring out to watch the terrain. What had once been farmland nearly abruptly ended in thick forest. The sky around the car darkened, making the young kit blink a few times. None of the trees were like the ones he’d seen on the train from Bunnyburrow to Zootopia. They weren’t pines at all, but leafy trees. The fox watched with eagerness as they crossed the first of what he could only guess would be many rivers, the brown, silt saturated water wandering down its course like it was taking a Sunday stroll.

“Wow,” the boy said softly, his face glued on the scenery as steel beams crossed his view before disappearing as the bridge ended.

Josephine giggled softly as her ears perked up at her son’s words. The motherly vixen leaned over to look behind the seat at her son. Hubert, however, was a little confused as he looked over at his girlfriend, one ear cocking up while the other flattened against his skull. “He acts like he ain’t never seen no forest like this b’fore.”

“He hasn’t,” the vixen replied softly, her gaze turning to look at the massive wolf. “We ain’t got forests in Bunnyburrow, and th’only one he’s ever dun seen was the ones ya c’n see on th’train.”

“Oooohhh,” the wolf said, though his words almost sounded like a howl. “Well,” Hubert paused for a brief second, “we’z got lotsa forests round here. My brudders’n’lil’ sister used t’play in’em all th’time. I thinks Kody’ll love it!”

“R.. really, Misser Oobert,” the kit pipped up as he tore his gaze from the window to look at the gigantic wolf.

His mother’s boyfriend chuckled as he took his eyes off the road to look into the rear view mirror. “Course, Kody. We even gots a river running on the properdy. Ya c’n go swimmin’ if ya wants ta.”

The kit looked over at his mother, who blushed softly as she turned her own gaze over to Hubert. “I.. well.. Kody,” she started to say, but her son finished her sentence for her. “I… Iz don’t know howta swim, Misser Oobert.”

The wolf turned his head to glance over at Jo before turning his gaze back up to the mirror. “Awh, ya don’ts have t’worry none, Kody. Mah lil’sisser c’n helps ya. Bertha’s a life gurrd down at tha pub-lic pool.”

The kit’s ears perked up. “R… really?”

“Course, Kody. I’m sure ya’ll love it,” the massive canine replied as he returned his gaze back to the road.

Jo smiled softly as she turned to look back at her son. “Ya hear that, sugar fox! Yer gonna learn how t’swim.”

The kit was smiling happily, his tail flicking about. Bunnyburrow didn’t have a public pool. In fact, there were almost no pools outside of the few that had been installed above ground. But because those were few and far between, not to mention owned by bunnies and therefore bunny-sized, he’d never gotten to go swimming nor learn how to swim. “I cain’t wait, Misser Oobert,” the tod chirped excitedly, his fluffy tail flopping about on the bench seat. He was happy for a few brief seconds before remembering that Hubert’s sister was also a wolf. Kody’s tail stopped flitting around as his ears lay flat against his skull.

“M… Misser Oobert,” the cautious young fox said as he looked up at the gigantic, grey furred wolf, “I… Is Miz Berfa nice?”

Hubert chuckled softly, a smirk on his lips. “Bertha? Awh she’s the sweetest, most snuggliest wolf gal ya ever did meet.”

“R… really, Misser Oobert?”

“She sure is, Kody. She’s sweet as sweet’n’soft as cotton candy,” the wolf replied, his chest wobbling slightly as he held in a throaty laugh. His girlfriend cocked an eyebrow in curiosity as she looked over at him.

 “Well, I can’t wait to meet her,” Jo said, wondering what Hubert’s sister looked like.


	9. Big Little Sister

Kody went back to watching the scenery. Although his eyes watched as trees ran past the window, the kit was actively wondering what it would be like to learn how to swim, that and meeting Hubert’s family and especially Bertha. It wasn’t that the young tod didn’t believe the large old wolf about her, he did, but the only wolves he’d ever met had been Hubert and Old Garth. The two couldn’t be more diametrically opposed to one another, however, with only them as a reference point, Kody wasn’t sure what to expect from the new family of lupines he was going to meet. His mind kept wondering if they were all going to be exactly like Hubert, or they’d turn out to be exactly like Old Garth and Hubert was the only exception.

The more Kody thought about it, the less sure he was about meeting them. Luckily for the young tod, the monotony of the car ride was starting to get to him. Slowly, his eye lids became heavier and heavier until they eventually closed.

 

Jo had expected her son to ask another question any minute, so after nearly ten minutes passed with no questions, the vixen couldn’t help but look behind her seat to see what was going on. The red-yellow fox let out a soft giggle as she looked at her sleeping kit. He was passed out, his head resting on the glass. Part of her was a tad surprised that he was asleep, but then again, he’d always been able to nap on car rides.

Hubert gave her a quick, curious glance at the chuckle. The fox turned her head to look at her boyfriend, a giggling grin crossing her lips. “He fell asleep,” she said softly, her smile running from ear to ear as she turned back to face the road. “Since he’s asleep, how about you tell me more about your sister.”

The massive wolf chuckled, “What do ya wanna know?”

“Well,” the vixen started, “errytime you start talkin’ bout her, you start giggling. Why is that?”

Hubert blushed deeply as he tried to keep his eyes on the road. “Jo-sef-een, ya knows how I’z all big’n’tall’n’mus-klee? Bertha, well,” he started to blush, “she ain’t like that.”

Jo’s ears perked up. “Whatcha mean by that?”

“Bertha… Bertha,” the lupine wasn’t entirely sure what to say next, but he tried his best. “Ya knows how I told Kody that she was as sweet’n’soft as cotton candy?”

“Yes.”

“Well… that’s the truth. She’s a sweet gal, and well… she ain’t small either. But not like how I ain’t small. She ain’t much taller than you iz, Jo-sef-een, but she’s… wider, and as curvy as a mountain road. She’s got a big… er… bottom and… well… there’s a reason why her nickname is… uhm… Tits.”

The vixen raised an eyebrow as she studied the wolf. His face was flushed. It was easy to see that he was embarrassed about describing his sister, especially when it came to talking about her assets. The body type he was describing wasn’t exactly anything new to the vixen. Lots of bunnies in Bunnyburrow had that same figure or some variation of it, but none of them had ever managed to acquire the nickname of ‘Tits’ before.

“She sounds like a lovely gal,” the vixen finally said, breaking the brief silence after he’d finished his description.

“Oh she is purdy. Lotsa fellers like her. She could have the pick of the litter if she wanted.”

“What’s stoppin’ her?”

“Well,” the big wolf paused as he lifted one massive hand up to scratch behind his head, “she’s a lot like me’n’pa, but when it comes to fellers, well… she’s a lot more likes mama.”

“What do you mean,” the fox queried, a look of concern starting to fill her face.

“Well… mama’s always been a might… picky when it comes to fellers and gals that wanna date her pups,” he answered, his head turning to look at Jo as he gulped and gave her a quick toothy grin.

“Yer mama doesn’t like me, does she,” Jo half asked and half stated as she looked at Hubert. It was something that had been tugging at her mind ever since she’d been present for the phone call the wolf had made the previous day.

“Well… she doesn’t hate ya, Jo-sef-een,” Hubert said with another big smile.

“But she doesn’t like me either.”

“Mama just doesn’t knows ya likes I do, Jo-sef-een. Mama… well… mama still thinks the bout the famly like it’s a pack. She jist don’t knows if yer a good fit fer the pack yet.”

“And what do you think,” the vixen asked, even though she already knew what he was going to say.

“I thinks you is the absolute perfect fit fer the pack, Jo-sef-een,” the gray wolf replied in a lovey-dovey, twitterpated tone that made the fox giggle.

“Wouldya marry me, even if mama said no?”

“Course I would, Jo-sef-een. Course, I dunnos if we c’d move t’Wolfsberg,” Hubert started to say, his mind starting to wonder what they would or could do if that happened. Luckily, Jo saved him from that by putting her hand on his. “We’ll cross that bridge if we get to it, sugar wolf.”


	10. Return to Wolfsberg

Half an hour later, Josephine began to smile happily as the forests started to gently blend in with the first of many old, Victorian style houses. The vixen gently turned her body to look behind her seat at her son. “Kody,” she said softly to her sleeping kit, “Kody, we’re here.”

The young, cherry red tod’s ears flicked about the top of his head as one tired eye began to open. “Mama?”

His mother giggled sweetly as she looked at her son. “Ya kept askin’ if we were there yet, sugar fox. Well, we’re here. In Wolfsberg.”

Kody’s eyes popped open as he wriggled in his seat to stare back out the window. The nap had given him renewed energy as he stared out at the town.

To say Wolfsberg was different than Bunnyburrow was to compare lions to leopards. Although Wolfsberg and Bunnyburrow were both townships, it was easy to tell that Wolfsberg was much older. Most of the houses that lined the streets were built in a mixture of Colonial, Geogian, and Colonial Revival styles, but the most predominant was Victorian. Many of the older houses didn’t have much in the way of a yard, but the ones that did had large, ancient willow trees and flowering bushes sitting in them.

The willows weren’t regulated to just the yards however. They also lined the streets, casting long shadows into the old asphalt streets. The closer they got to the center of town, the willow trees began to become more and more sparse. The trees became smaller and smaller until they were nothing more than thin trunked leafy trees that provided some semblance of shade to people walking along the sidewalk.

Even the architecture changed as they made their way into Wolfsberg proper. The older styles began to fall away to a more Queen Anne style. The buildings that lined the streets were mostly shops, restaurants, and bars that attempted to appeal to both locals and tourists alike. The one thing that stood out the most to the kit was the people.

Kody had never seen so many foxes, let alone wolves, in his entire life. There were all different varieties of them. Red foxes, Gray foxes, Kit foxes, Swift foxes, even a few Arctic foxes and Fennec foxes, all of whom were interspersed amongst all manner, size, and species of wolf. There were even a few bears, badgers, skunks, otters, raccoons, stoats, and ferrets. Wolfsberg was just where the young tod needed to be.

Josephine was smiling the whole time as she watched her son gaze out the window. Deep down, part of her wished she’d moved out here six years prior so he would have grown up around his own kind, but she knew that wouldn’t have happened no matter how much she wished it.

“Mama,” the cherry red tod cried out with a smile, “Lookit all them foxes!”

“I know, shoog,” the vixen said with a gentle, smiling purr.

“I ain’t never seen this many b’fore, mama,” the kit chirped as his tail began to flop against the bench seat like a landed fish. His mother hadn’t seen him this happy for quite a while, at least not since his birthday.

Slowly, Kody forced himself to pull his attention away from the plethora of Canidae that were wandering the street. “Mama?”

“Yes, sugar fox?”

“Mama, how come we didn’t move ear?”

The reddish-yellow vixen let out a soft sigh as she gently put a hand on his knee. “I thought bout it, sweetheart, but it jist wasn’t gonna work.”

“Why, mama?”

Jo bit her lower lip, “Sugar fox. It’s sumthin’ y’ll understand when yer a bit older, but I didn’t have the money t’move us out here. I didn’t know nobody s’I cud get a job. Plus you were s’little, I jist wudn’t’ve been able t’takes care of ya on my own without yer Gramma’n’Grampa.”

The kit nodded his head. He mostly understood, but part of him still wished she had. He didn’t say anything for a few seconds before his stomach let out a low rumble. “Mama.”

Jo giggled softly. “Ya wanna stop’n git sumthin’ t’eat, sugar fox?”

Kody nodded his head enthusiastically. “Yes, mama.”

The vixen was just about to say something when she heard a growl that made her ears stand up. Slowly, her head turned to look at Hubert. The massive wolf was blushing, his ears laying flat against his head. “I cud sure use sum grub, Jo-sef-een.”

The red-yellow fox let out a soft giggle as she looked at the handsome gray furred wolf. “Well, ya knows the best places, sugar wolf. Lead the way.”


	11. Walking Down the Street

Hubert looked about as they rolled down the street. Most of the parking spaces were taken, but finally, he found one. Turning the wheel in his large hands, he guided the station wagon into the slot before turning off the engine. “There’s a wunnerful diner jist down the street,” the wolf said with a smile as he looked at Josephine, “It’s the one where I first saws yew.”

The vixen let out a little giggle as she reached out to put one hand on his thigh. The gigantic lupine’s face seemed to light up even more as his bushy tail began to smack against the seat, something that only made the reddish-yellow fox giggle more. “Yer such a sweetheart, sugar wolf.”

Hubert couldn’t stop the loud a-hyuck that leaped out of his jaws as his face flushed. The muscular canine leaned in to give Jo a swift smooch right on the lips, something that made the fox smile. However, not everyone was thrilled with the display of affection. The kit in the back seat cringed, his ears folding against the top of his head as his tongue slipped out of his muzzle. “Bleh!”

The sound of Kody’s disgust of kissing made the wolf and vixen let out a soft laugh as they turned around to look at him. He was still looking at them with repulsion, his arms crossed about his chest. His mother slowly shook her head, knowing to herself that his views and opinions on sharing a kiss would change soon enough. “C’mon, Kody. Let’s git sumthin’ t’eat,” she said softly as her hands moved to unbuckle her seatbelt.

The younger fox nodded his head as he reached down to depress the small red button on the metal buckle, feeling the taught fabric of the belt go slack and begin to pull away from his chest. The kit wriggled out of the seat as he reached out to grab the door handle, pulling it towards him as the car door unlatched so he could slip out.

Kody’s feet hit the warm pavement as his young nose began to work overtime. Something about the place smelled distantly familiar. His mother did say that she’d brought him here when he was very little, but he didn’t remember anything about that trip. The town did smell and feel very different from Bunnyburrow.

For one, it was much more humid than Bunnyburrow to the point where the tod could smell the water in the air. But the best difference was the lingering smell of flowering plants. Bunnyburrow of course had those, but not near in the same number and concentration to where you could actually smell them on the wind unless you were standing right next to them. The mix of smells actually made the kit smile for a few seconds before he started to notice just how hot it was. It was probably the exact same temperature as Bunnyburrow, but the higher humidity made it feel much hotter.

Kody was still pondering everything when he felt a hand on his, snapping him back into reality. The young fox looked down to see his mother’s chocolate brown hand holding his. He slowly turned his head to look up at the reddish-yellow vixen. She was smiling down at him. “Ya ready t’git sumthin’ t’eat, sugar fox?”

“Yes, mama,” the tod replied with his own smile as he gave her hand a squeeze. His mother continued to grin as she slowly started to guide him over to the sidewalk, sliding in beside Hubert. Kody didn’t notice it when the vixen took the wolf’s hand. He was more fixated on looking at all the other people casually wandering down the street.

There was a well dressed mink holding what looked like a large gray colored brick with a long black antenna against the side of his face while his other hand held a gradually swinging briefcase as he chatted and walked.

Two high school age wolves, one white and one dark brown, passed right by them. The two were dressed in blue jeans and brightly colored shirts that were covered by letterman jackets with white leather sleeves and a gray body that sported a white W on the left breast. There was some white stitching, but it was cursive and the kit hadn’t learned to read cursive yet, so it looked like squiggly lines.

The kit instinctively moved in closer to his mother’s leg at the sight of the two laughing wolves, who slowly turned their heads around to stare back at him, his mother, and Hubert. The white one poked the other in the side with his elbow, his lips moving to whisper something that made the brown one smirk.

Kody turned his head back around to look up at his mother as he moved slightly away from her side now that those two had passed. His attention moved to a group of three skunks walking down the street. The tod had never seen a skunk before, so he looked at the three grayscale furred mammals with an air of curiosity.

The male skunk in a lime green shirt and jeans was only barely taller than Mister Stu. Kody had met the heavy-set rabbit a few times, and Mister Stu always seemed frightened of the kit, possibly because he was almost as tall as he was, even though the tod was only six. The big difference between Mister Stu and the skunk was, even though they were both fairly wide, it was easy to see that the skunk was much more fit than the bunny.

The female skunk in a violet shirt and jeans next to him was a different story. She was only as tall as Abigail Hopps, the oldest of the Hopps children, who shared her height with her mother, but that wasn’t the only thing the skunkette and the bunny shared. They shared very similar body types. Both of them had been shaped like pears, that is, if you took two pears, cut the top off of the second one and placed it on the top of the first one.

The third and final skunk was holding onto her mother’s hand. She was about the same size as a few of the bunny kit’s Kody had had the misfortune of running into back home. She was dressed not dissimilarly from himself, but instead of wearing overalls and a green shirt, she had on overalls and a pink shirt. The tod kit and the skunk kit looked at each other as they passed by and even for a few paces afterwards before returning their attentions back to the pavement in front of them.


	12. Willa

Jo held onto her son’s hand and Hubert’s hand, the vixen sandwiched between the two males she loved most in the world; her son and her boyfriend. The motherly fox smiled as her wolf guided them towards a glass door. A memory popped into her mind. She was walking into the exact same restaurant nearly six years prior, holding a bassinet with a sleeping baby Kody. Hubert had passed her on the street just a few yards back, giving her a once over. The whole recollection made the vixen smile happily as the large gray wolf lead her and her son into the diner.

Hubert looked about the mom and pop establishment for a second, a look of concern on his face until he spotted his favorite spot, a booth not too far from the coffee bar. It was a perfect spot, really. Close enough to coffee and food that service wouldn’t take too long. The wolf unwittingly dragged the vixen and her kit behind him, making a quick dash to _his_ table to make sure no one grabbed it before he could.

The three slid onto the bench seats; Kody sitting next to his mother, with Hubert facing the two. “They gots th’best food outside’a mama’n’daddy’s,” the massive gray furred wolf said with a huge smile on his face. Jo nodded as she looked around where she sat, still remembering when she was there the first time. “It ain’t changed atall,” the vixen whispered.

The wolf couldn’t help but let out a little laugh. “It’s been th’same since I wuz here as a pup, Jo-sef-een,” he replied. The motherly fox was just about to say something when Hubert’s attention moved away from her to something or someone else.

A short, wide, thick and busty European badger woman in a blue one piece jumpsuit and skirt waddled over to them, a broad, toothy smile on her black and white face. “Well, if it ain’t my fave-or-ite customer,” the waitress chirped. It was easy to tell that she was much older than the two foxes and one wolf in front of her. There were lines under her eyes, and her muzzle was specked with grey hairs. “Yer daddy wuz in here jist th’other day, sayin’ you was out workin’ in Bunnyburrah again this summer,” she continued as she handed only two menus out specifically to Jo and Kody, “So Charlie and me wuzn’t expectin’ ya. Ya wants yer usual, honey?”

Hubert nodded enthusiastically, “I sure do Miss Willa.”

The badger laughed, “If I tolds ya once, I tolds ya a hunert times. Y’ain’t gots t’call me Miss Willa no more. Y’ain’t a pup.”

Jo tilted her head in confusion. Hubert had come here often enough for this Willa to know exactly what he wanted. Slowly, the vixen turned her head to look at the sow badger. The mustelid was smiling back at her.

“I ain’t see you here in six years,” Willa said before Jo even had a chance to ask any questions.

The statement made the reddish-yellow fox blink several times. “You… remember me?”

“Sure do, honey. You know, the sad thing is that most animals thinks that all ya foxes look alike, but I knows fer a fact that ain’t the case. I member erry face that comes in here,” the badger admitted with pride. “Course, ya was the only reddish-yeller vixen to ever come in here holdin’ a bassinet, so that does tend to stick out.”

Jo blinked again. Her mouth moved to say something, but nothing seemed to want to come out. That didn’t stop the black and white furred woman from continuing as she leaned over to look at Kody. “And is this that cute little kit I saw in that bassinet?”

If Jo looked confused, her son looked utterly befuddled with a heaping helping of scared. Badgers were another species that he’d never seen. She was the same size as that skunk woman, and with her toothy smile, she looked like she was ready to pounce and eat him. Kody let out a whimper as he started to quiver, his big fluffy tail moving instinctively to cover himself.

Jo moved herself slightly so Willa couldn’t look around her to stare at her son, the vixen’s protective instincts kicking in. “Yes, that’s m’boy, Kody.”

The badger smiled, “Well he is jist the cutest lil thang, honey. I had two cubs and two kits with Charlie, and ain’t none of’em ever had fur color like that. I knows I’ve been eatin’ up yer time, so I’ll gets ya’ll some water less ya wants sumthin’ else t’drank.”

Kody slowly peeked around his tail. “Mama,” he said softly, “C… can I has a soader?”

Jo turned her head around to give her son a warm, loving smile as she nodded, “Of course, sugar fox.”

The kit smiled back, but as soon as he saw Willa poking her head around, he went back to hiding behind his tail.

“One soader, and can I gets ya anything, honey?”

“I’ll takes a soader too.”

“Three soaders,” the stout badger woman replied, giving them a nod. “I’ll be back in a minute.”

As Willa waddled away, Jo turned herself back into a more normal seating position, giving Hubert a confused look. “What did she mean by having two cubs and two kits?”

The wolf blushed a little as he smiled. “Miss Willa’s married to a fox.”

The statement made Jo blink several times. She’d heard about inter-species marriages before, but she’d never actually met anyone that had done it, let alone heard of any offspring that came from such a union. It began to raise far too many questions in her mind about her and Hubert possibly having children of their own.

“Ya mean Charlie…”

“Is a tod,” Hubert finished her sentence.


	13. Not so Scary

Jo nodded slowly at Hubert’s statement. She’d never heard of a fox marrying outside of their own species, then again, she didn’t know that many foxes. The only fox that had seemed to enjoy other predators had been her ex-boyfriend and Kody’s father, Chris Rowan, and even he had admitted to wanting to marry within his species before his passing. Slowly, the vixen started to nibble on her lower lip. “Is.. sumthin’ like that… well… normal here?”

The wolf nibbled on the brim of his jowels. “Well… I ain’t gonna calls it that, Jo-sef-een,” he replied as he looked at the reddish-yellow fox nervously, “but it ain’t likes people gets all hot unner th’collars bout it. Willa’n’Charlie grew up here. They been murried’n runnin’ this here rest’rent fer forty years. The whole town comes here t’eat, and I ain’t never heard noboy say nothin’ bad bout either of’em.”

Jo nodded her head. She could have said something about people keeping their opinions in their own households, but that rarely happened. Hank and Otto Hopps were two prime examples of that. Neither of them seemed to be able to keep their opinions about foxes to themselves. The vixen was about to ask another question when Willa returned holding a tray of three bubbling chocolate colored drinks. “Here’s yer soaders,” she said as she began placing them down on the table.

Kody started to lean back, his tail moving back up in an attempt to protect himself as the sow badger placed his drink before him. The display just made Willa chuckle softly. “I don’t bite, honey,” she said as she gave him a quick glance before pulling away to set his mother’s drink down before her.

“You reminds me a lotta m’boy, Bruce,” the badger softly chuckled as she put Hubert’s soda in front of him.

The kit slowly peeked out from behind his tail, not saying a word as he looked at Willa, something that just made her start to laugh as a memory flooded into her mind. “He used t’hide b’hind his tail all th’time when I took him t’visit his grampa’n’gramma. He was a might scurred’a them. I never blamed him, though, we badgers is scary, specially in th’mornin’ when we ain’ts had our coffee.”

The badger inadvertently flashed the young tod another smile, making him hide back behind his tail. Willa just shook her head. “Gimme five minutes, and I’ll git ya’ll’s orders.”

Before anyone could say a word, the sow waddled away.

“I… is she gone, mama,” Kody asked from behind his tail, still not daring to come out until the coast was clear.

Jo nodded her head, “She’s gone, sugar fox.”

Tentatively, the young tod dropped his tail down, his attention moving over to his mother. “She’s scary,” he whimpered as he leaned into the vixen.

Jo gently wrapped one arm around her son, giving him a gentle half hug. She’d forgotten that the kit had never interacted with or even seen a badger before today. “Badgers c’n be real scary when they’s angry,” she said softly.

“I ain’t never seen Miss Willa ever get angry,” Hubert added right before taking loud sip from his straw. “She’s the sweetest badger I ever met. I don’t thinks she’d ever hurt nobody.”

“But she’s rull scary,” Kody whimpered, “I thought she was gonna eat me.”

Jo let out a soft giggle. “I don’t thinks she wants t’eatcha, sugar fox. Some animals jist fergit that theys smiles c’n frighten others.”

The vixen gave her son another gentle hug. “Do ya thinks ya c’n be brave likes Robin Hood fer me’n not hide when she comes back?”

Kody slowly nodded his head. “I… I’ll try, mama.”

Jo smiled sweetly at her son as she gently reached over to flip the menu around. At the bottom was a header that said, “Kits, Pups, and Cubs’ Menu.” The language made the vixen giggle softly as her son stared at the words.

“Mama. I wants the chicken strips,” the young tod chirped with a smile as he looked over at his mother. The vixen nodded and smiled, “All right, sugar fox. Do ya thinks ya c’n tell that to Mizz Willa?”

Kody gulped softly as he slowly nodded his head. “Yes, mama.”

The kit had barely said that when the stout badger sow returned, this time holding something in her hands. She grinned as she shoved a plain piece of white paper towards Kody, right before plopping down a box of crayons. “I knows how much youngins like t’draw, and how scurred y’are of me, so I thoughts I’d shows ya I ain’t meaning to frighten ya.”

Kody looked between the box of crayons and the badger woman. He wanted to hide behind his tail again, but he’d made a promise to his mother. The black and white faced female was intimidating, but she had just given him a piece of paper and crayons. Plus she was married to a fox, so she couldn’t be all that bad. The cherry red kit gulped softly as he reached a hand out to wrap his fingers around the yellow and green box, his head turning to flash a cautious smile. “Th… thank you… M… Miss Willa.”

The thickset badger woman smiled back, though this time she remember to not show her teeth, just curling her jowels up. “Yer welcome, honey. Now, do ya’ll know whatcha wants t’eat?”

Jo turned her head to look at her son, “Go first, sugar fox.”

The young tod nodded his head slowly as he continued to look at the sow badger. “C… can I has th’chicken strips?”

“Course ya can, honey. Ya wants French fries?”

Kody looked over at his mother who gave him a nod. The young fox’s face lit up at her response. “Yes,” he chirped out, something that made his mama give him a look. “I mean… yes, please.”

The vixen smiled as she gave her son a nod of satisfaction.

Willa chuckled softly as she jotted down the order before looking over at the vixen sitting beside the kit. “And what can I gits ya?”

“I’ll jist have the,” Jo paused for a quick second as she looked at the menu again before continuing. “Can I gits th’chicken salad sandwich.”

“Ya wants it on rye, wheat, white, er sourdough?”

“Sourdough, please.”

“Fries?”

Jo considered it for a second before nodding her head. “Yes, please.”

Willa jotted the final part down before giving the two a warm smile as she reached over to take the two menus. “I’ll git that right out with Hubert’s usual,” the badger said before turning around and waddling away.

Jo was just about to say something when they all heard a loud yell. “CHARLIE! ORDER A FINGERS AND A BARNYARD SALAD ON SOUR! FROG FIRES FER BOTH! AND HUBERT’S FAVORITE!”


	14. Lunch

Kody didn’t really pay any attention to his parents after Willa left. He was more interested in expressing his artistic abilities. His young paws dragged one crayon over the page after the other as his mind completely focused on creating his magnum opus.

Jo and Hubert, on the other hand, were busy discussing the important topic of the day; Hubert’s family. It was a subject that the two had never really delved into before. Jo’s family wasn’t exactly large by any stretch of the imagination, especially since she hadn’t married into Chris Rowans equally small family. The wolf had nearly the opposite problem.

“Well,” her boyfriend began, “There’s mama’n’daddy, my two brudders, Bart’n’Wilbur, and I told ya bout my lil sis, Ti… I means Bertha.” The grey furred canine’s face blushed as he almost used the nickname instead of her real name. It took him a second to recover before continuing, “Course, daddy had two brudders; Tim and Eric. Tim lives over in Holstetten, and Eric moved t’ Doo-wham-ish, so we don’t sees’em much, but Tim’s boy Frank moved back, s’he lives in town with his two boys; Bardy and Rudy.  Course, mama’s got two brudders, Uncle Ollie’n Uncle Willy, and a lil sister, Aunt Millie. Ollie’n Willy own the flight school down at the airport. Aunt Millie’s th’only one that don’t live in town. She gots married’n moved t’ Z’topia. Her eldest is one uh them pro-fessers at the big college there.”

The vixen perked her ears at that last statement. She might have taken a course from him during her short stint as a university student. “Really,” Jo asked, indulging her curiosity, “What’s he teach?”

“Last I heard, Cousin Ee-gun was teaching Grad-gee-ate level Thee-oh-retical Physics er somethin’ like that. Course, I also heard he gots his self fired. Sumthin’ bout wastin’ university money on some spearmints that weren’t showin’ no re-sults. We ain’t seen’im in s’long that, well, we kinda lost touch.”

Jo blinked a few times. She’d remembered hearing something about a professor being fired from the physics department. Come to think of it, Z.U. had fired three professors while she was there; one from the physics department, one from the psychology department, and another from the engineering department. The vixen shook her head as she pushed the memory away. “Any other kin I should know about, Hubert?”

The wolf leaned back in his seat, tapping his chin with a finger. “Well, Uncle Ollie had two pups; Bradford’n’Bill. Bradford is in th’ Aero Force, and Bill’s a Deputy Sheriff here. Uncle Willy’s pup Larry’s still here. He’s bout Bertha’s age, course, he’s been talkin’ bout going inta th’Army, so I don’t thinks he’ll be round more than another year er two.”

“Ya sure do have a big famly, Hubert,” the reddish-yellow fox said as she took a sip from her soda. Her words just made the large lupine let out a chuckle. “Sure do. We gots a big ol’ pack,” her boyfriend laughed, one massive hand reaching out to wrap around the dew covered glass of cola in front of him, bringing it up to his lips for a long sip.

“I thinks they’re gonna love you, Jo-sef-een,” Hubert added after pulling his soda from his lips.

Jo just nodded her head, her ears flitting about a bit nervously. She deeply hoped that he was right. The vixen was just about to say something when she felt a tug on her sleeve. Slowly, the reddish-yellow fox turned her head to look down at her grinning son.  He had a happy smile on his face, the kind of smile that only a fox could ever make as he held up his drawing.

His mother’s ears perked up as she took the page from her son, looking it over. It was a simple drawing, mostly using stick figures, but then again, Jo wasn’t expecting the Mona Lisa from a six year old. There were a bunch of black boxes on a white field with green grass under four stick figures. It was easy to tell that three of the figures were obviously foxes. Two were drawn in red and one drawn in orange. The fourth figure was drawn in black, like the buildings. The figures were lined up holding hands, but the oddest part of the picture was a yellow ring around the head of the first red fox.

Jo didn’t really need an explanation of the picture she was holding. It was clear to see that her son had drawn his father, himself, his mother, and Hubert all happy and holding hands in Wolfsberg. The reddish-yellow vixen smiled warmly, a small tear forming in her eye as she leaned in to give her son a kiss on the top of his head, something that the kit didn’t mind so much.

“Thank you, sugar fox,” Jo said sweetly before folding up the paper and putting it in her purse. “I’ll put it up on the fridge.”

“Thank ya, mama,” her son chirped. He was about to say something else, when Willa returned holding a tray.

“Strips fer tha kit,” the stout badger woman said as she placed a large white dish stacked with French fries and four breaded strips of chicken in front of the young tod.

“Chicken Salad sammich on sour fer the miss,” she continued as she set down a half-foot tall sandwich and a heaping mess of fries in front of Jo just before turning to Hubert. “And here’s yer special, honey.”

The hamburger that the sow badger set down in front of the wolf was the largest burger either fox had ever seen.  The patty was a good pound of minced, well cooked turkey with what looked like half a wheel of cheese melted to it. On top of that, there were at least six strips of dripping turkey bacon, just under two large pieces of lettuce, ripe tomato, thick sliced Vidalia onion, and pickles. And that didn’t even include the three inch tall sesame seed bun everything was resting between, nor the foot high stack of fries.

The two foxes stared in amazement while the wolf just beamed at his favorite burger. His massive jaws opened wide and his tongue flopped out as drool pooled on that slimy pink appendage. “Thank ya, Willa,” Hubert said in a hungry voice, but the badger was too busy chuckling at the expressions of shock and amazement on Jo and Kody’s faces.

“Enjoy, honey,” Willa said before turning about and heading back towards the kitchen.


	15. So Full

Willa returned fifteen minutes later, a chuckling smirk on her face. As expected, Hubert ate everything save for the plate. Kody and Jo on the other hand had not been prepared for the sight of what the wolf loved to eat, nor were they prepared for the sheer size of the meals they served. The vixen had barely touched her fries and had only managed to eat a quarter of the sandwich, while the tod had at least eaten all the chicken strips and around a third of his fries.

“Ya’ll done,” the squat, wide badger sow asked, though, she already knew the answer. The full foxes nodded their heads to say, “Yes,” something that just made the monochrome woman chuckle more. “To-go bag?”

“Jist fer the sammich,” Jo said groggily, “Not the fries.”

Willa shook her head, still giggling madly as she took their plates. “I’ll be right back.”

 

Jo let out a groan as she put a paw on her belly. “I ain’t felt this full since I was pregnant with Kody.”

Hubert chuckled as he reached over to grab a tooth pick and start to clean his teeth. “They sure is fillin’. I prolly shudda warned ya bout that.”

“Mama,” Kody whimpered out as he held onto his belly, “I don’t feel s’good.”

His mother let out another groan as she sat back up, her hand moving to lightly brush over the top of his head. “Y’ain’t used t’ eatin’ that much, sugar fox,” she said softly before looking over at the wolf across from them. “Mind if we stops by a drug store, sugar wolf?”

Hubert nodded softly as he eased himself back up. The burger hadn’t phased the massive lupine at all, then again, he was used to eating like an elephant. “Don’t sees why not,” he replied, “And don’tcha worry none about the check. I gots it covered.”

The vixen’s ears perked up at that last part of his statement. Her father hadn’t paid him for that week’s work yet, though, the canine didn’t really have any expenses since he was getting free room and board. “All right, sugar wolf,” the reddish-yellow fox said as she leaned back in her chair again, her words making the big grey furred male’s cheeks flush before letting out an a-hyuck.

 

Willa waddled back towards the three patrons, holding a white Styrofoam container in one hand with the check resting on top.  “Figgered ya’ll’d want yer check,” the short, wide woman stated as she set the box and the green slip of paper down. “Cash er Credit?”

Jo looked over at Hubert who was just smiling up at the sow badger. “Willa, wudja mind puttin’ it on daddy’s tab?”

Willa let out a chuckle, her heavy breasts bouncing slightly. “Why’d I knows ya was gonna say that,” she said as she shook her head, “Allrighty. I’ll put it on yer daddy’s tab. Lord knows he’s th’only one who ever settles up before th’endda the month.”

“Thanks, Willa,” the gigantic canine grinned as the monochrome female picked up the check and headed off.

Jo’s ears flitted about the top of her head. She hadn’t been in a restaurant that kept running tabs in quite a while. She was just about to ask when her boyfriend started to wriggle out of his seat, massive feet pressing down onto the linoleum floor as he stood up.

“Drug store’s just cross the street, Jo-sef-een,” he bellowed before sliding around the side of the table to help the reddish-yellow vixen out of her seat by taking her hand as she grabbed her son’s.


	16. Nerves

Fifteen minutes and three ant-acids later, Kody and Jo were comfortable enough to get back in the car for the last part of the drive. Hubert returned to the driver’s seat, strapping himself in before turning the key to start the old station wagon’s engine. The massive wolf was wearing a huge grin on his face, his tail fwapping against the seat at the prospect of finally getting to introduce his sweet Josephine to his parents.

Unfortunately, Jo wasn’t filled with the same eagerness her boyfriend was exuding. The vixen was nervous. Her reddish-yellow fur standing on end as her ears flicked and twisted about her head, making the fox look like she was attempting to tune a TV antenna to get a stronger signal. She was honestly having second thoughts about it, but they’d already come this far. She didn’t even register that her kit wasn’t making a peep as he stared lazily out the window.

 

Evie and George Hemming were sitting in two white wicker chairs on the front of the wrap around porch. The two gray furred wolves enjoyed the sun as they nursed mint juleps. While some would say it was too early for a drink, the weather was warm enough that neither of the two canines cared. If Jo was on edge, she had nothing on Hubert’s mother.

The classily dressed alpha matron fidgeted in her chair, the hair on the back of her neck bristling. “I jist don’t know bout this,” Evie growled as she took another quick sip of her drink. The bourbon burned against her tongue, but the mint was cool and soothing.

George let out a soft chuckle as his fingers curled into the neck of his coat, slowly pulling the fabric away from his chest. The gray wolf was always wearing a white suit, then again, he did have four of them, but it was a rare treat when he wore the blue one. “Ah say! Ah say, sugar plum. You is as fidgety as a sinnah in church.”

His wife scowled, “And why shudn’t I be?”

The slightly older lupine shook his head as he chuckled again, his paw reaching out to bring the mint julep to his lips. “Ya’ve always been so pro-tective uh Hubey, sugar plum.”

“You and I both knows Hubey ain’t all that bright,” Evie snorted as she took another quick drink, the bourbon burning down the back of her throat. The alpha couldn’t help but let out a fidgeting shiver from the mixture of fire water and soothing icy mint. “His brudders’n’ their friends was always picking on him’n takin’ vantage of his kindness.”

“Oh, Lam Sakes, honey. Boys is always doin’ that,” George replied before taking a sip from his own glass.

His wife let out a low, angry growl that made the pearls around her neck shudder. “It ain’t the boys. It’s them gals! I swore on a stacka Bibles that if I ever catched that Per-nelope, I’d come home with her hide fer what she dun did t’ Hubey.”

“Ah say, sugar plum, ya don’t has t’tell me again. I was there. Ah say, Ah say, ya put tha fearagod in her s’hard, I bout thought she’da joined a nun-ry.” Her husband put his mint julep down as he looked over at her. “But, Ah must say, sugar plum, what makes ya think this vixen’s gonna do the same thing ta Hubey?”

The wolf in the red dress let out a snort. “Mudder’s intuition,” she snarled before tossing back the last few drops of her drink, her chest bouncing slightly as she let out a huff from the heat and cold running down her throat. “Vixens is trouble,” Evie added right before turning her head towards the large, hand crafted oak front doors. “Atkins!”

George leaned forwards in his chair. “Ah say, honey. Ya’ve had enough.”

His wife turned her head back around to look at her well dressed husband. “I knows when I’m done.”

Her husband seemed to grow larger in his chair. His shoulders rolled back as he stuck out his chest, his ears falling flat against his skull as he sat up. Although George was a sweet, kind hearted old wolf, he was an alpha wolf. He was THE alpha wolf of the Hemming pack. He didn’t growl. He didn’t flash his fangs. He didn’t even raise a hand, he just stared right at his wife.

Evie’s own ears lay flat on the top of her head, her jaw twitching back and forth. She was an alpha too, but George had been the only wolf, outside of her father, to ever win when he challenged her, and he did it in his own way. He’d never been like some of the other alphas she’d known or heard of. The problem with alphas, male and female, was that they had a tendency to use their hands and jaws rather than using their imposing size.

The two were still staring at each other, their bodies seemingly getting larger as they engaged in their non-verbal, non-physical challenge when Atkins wandered up. The gamma male was just about to slink off when Evie broke the silence.

“Atkins. Bring out sum lem’nade.”

The tuxedo wearing wolf nodded before he scurried away.

A gigantic smile crossed George’s muzzle as he seemed to shrink right back into his usual old grandfatherly looking form. “Thank ya, sugar plum.”

Evie was just about to make a comment when one of her ears popped up and shot out towards the long dirt and gravel driveway.

“Ah’m gissin’ that’s our Hubey,” her husband said with a happy grin on his face as he leaned back into the chair.


	17. Hubert's Home

The station wagon had been nearly dead silent the whole drive towards Hubert’s family home. Hubert had been wearing the biggest grin Jo had seen since the last time they’d been intimate, but the vixen was more concerned about what was going to happen. Had she been savage, she probably would have been bouncing all over the car from anxiety; her fingers digging into the upholstery in order to find a place to hide, if not escape. But she wasn’t savage, nor was she free to move about the car since she’d fastened her seat belt, so all Jo could really do was fidget and wriggle as her fur seemed to get bushier and more bristly by the second.

Kody, on the other hand, didn’t seem to be having that problem. His eyes were glued firmly to the window next to his seat, staring out and watching the town burn away into forest again before some of that forest began to break, showing massive tracts of farm land surrounded by more forest. It was an entirely new experience for him, and just like their trips to Zootopia, he’d tried to memorize every detail.

The car gradually began to slow down as they reached a mail box beside the road. It wasn’t exactly a fancy one by any stretch of the imagination, just a very plain metal one with “Hemming” written on the side in script. Jo just felt her uneasiness grow as Hubert slowly turned the wheel and took them off the pavement and onto a long gravel driveway lined with ancient willow trees.

Kody’s ears perked up as the sound of small rocks crunching under the weight of the old car’s wheels filled the vehicle. He gave his mother and Hubert a quick glance before returning his gaze towards the trees. In between them was a massive lawn the shade of mint chocolate chip ice cream. The tod let out a happy gasp as his fluffy tail started to flick about behind him. It wasn’t as though he’d never seen a green lawn, but they were never THIS big or even THIS green. “Wow,” the cherry colored fox said softly, his paws pressing up against the glass.

Kody continued watching as Hubert turned the wheel again, the trees bleeding away and a two story, white walled, plantation style mansion appeared. Nothing had really prepared the kit for something like that. He’d never seen one of those before, mostly because no one ever built one in Bunnyburrow.

It was a spectacular structure, even though the house itself was just two large white rectangular boxes stacked atop each other, but both floors had wrap around porches. It was obvious that the house was built before electricity as evenly spaced, tall windows lined the mansion, letting in as much sunlight as they could muster.

Kody was awestruck though, his eyes darting about until he saw two wolves sitting on the first floor porch. The kit’s ears fell back against his head as he pulled away from the car window. He looked over at Hubert, but the big lupine was putting the car in park before turning the key.

The tod let out a slight whimper, completely unsure of what to do. Part of him thought that staying in the car was his best option. “M… mama?”

Slowly, his mother turned around to look at him. She was just as uncomfortable as he was, maybe more. She looked fluffier than usual, her fur standing on end and her ears twitching on the top of her head.

“M… mama… c… c’n I stay in the car?”

The reddish-yellow vixen gulped as her hands moved to try to straighten out her fur, trying to hide her own discomfort and reassure her son. “No, sugar fox,” Jo said sweetly, though, deep down she thought about saying yes, “We gots t’meet Hubert’s mama’n’daddy.”

Her son gulped as he slowly nodded his head. “O… Okay, mama.”

Jo tried to smile as she returned the nod. The vixen turned her head as she took in a deep breath and grabbed the latch. “Here goes nothin’.”


	18. Lifeline

The station wagon’s passenger side front door swung open with a bit of unease as Jo put one foot out onto the rocky ground. The vixen nibbled on her inner cheek before she gulped once more. The reddish-yellow fox forced herself out of her seat to slowly stand up, her feet pressed into the ground. She looked over at where she thought her boyfriend was standing, the only problem was that he wasn’t standing there, rather he was running up the white wooden steps towards his parents, his arms opened wide.

Jo let out a happy sigh of relief. Hubert was buttering them up first. She hoped. But his unintentional distraction gave the reddish-yellow furred fox time for her to slide to the rear passenger seat. The latch clicked as she pulled the door open to stare at her son.

Even though Kody had agreed to come out, the kit hadn’t moved a single inch. He hadn’t even undone his seatbelt. The cherry fox still looked uncomfortable and frightened at the idea of meeting two more wolves.

“Ya gots t’get out of the car, sugar fox,” his mother scolded him in a sweet, yet authoritarian tone.

“Uh-uh,” he retorted, her son shaking his head as he tried to retreat into the seat.

Jo let out a soft sigh as she reached over him, her fingers pressing down on the metal button to release the seatbelt. As the strap began to retreat, the kit held onto it like a lifeline, almost as tightly as he’d held onto his Robin Hood stuffed toy.

His mother reached in and grabbed her boy by the hips, pulling him towards her chest, but Kody wasn’t about to give up without a fight. The fox wriggled and writhed, not letting go of his seatbelt, his only lifeline to the safety of the steel bodied car.

“Kody,” the reddish-yellow vixen snorted as she gave the cherry red tod a look. It wasn’t any look though, it was THAT look; a look of authority, disappointment, and frustration all wrapped into one. It was the look she always gave him when he wasn’t behaving.

The tod’s ears flattened against his head as he slowly let go of the seatbelt, the fabric jerking back into the car as the metal tab slapped the plastic lining that covered the interior around the door. His mother let out a small grunt as she held him against her for a few seconds before putting him down. She’d forgotten how heavy he was starting to get.

“Yer gonna be all right, sugar fox. Jist take m’hand,” Jo started to say right before his small paw gripped hers like a vice. The surprise of his youthful strength and how tightly he was clinging to her elicited a high-pitched yip from her lips, her eyes popping open.

Kody eased up on his grasp. “I… I’m sorry, mama,” he whimpered out as his ears drooped slightly, but the reddish-yellow fox gave him a smile. That made the kit smile.

“C’mon, sugar fox.”

The mother-son pair put one foot in front of the other as they headed towards the tall, white steps that lead up to the first story, wrap around porch.


	19. Home

The interesting part of wolves was just how social they were, especially when welcoming a member of the pack back home. The minute Evie and George saw the car pull up, the two gray furred canines stood up, a big smile on their faces and their tails wagging happily, even more so when their son came bounding up the steps.

His mother threw her arms open wide as she gave her boy a big, warm hug, her muzzle nuzzling into his neck while her nose went wild. “MMM! Missed ya s’much Hubey! S’glad yer home!”

Hubert’s own tail was moving so fast that it was getting difficult to keep track of while his big, burly arms wrapped around his mother. His nose pressed to the top of her head, loving the familiar scent of his mama. He couldn’t exactly help it when he gave her a big squeeze that made her yelp. “S… Sorry mama. I jist missed ya s’much!”

Evie shook her head as she released her son from her hug, slowly pushing away from him. “They’s been feedin’ y’allright,” the matronly alpha said as she looked her son up and down, from the tips of his ears to the tips of his toes. He wasn’t exactly all dolled up like his parents. He was just in overalls and a plaid shirt with the sleeves rolled up. Her pup didn’t exactly look any different, maybe a little more muscular.

“Course they is, mama,” Hubert replied with a wide grin before his attention turned to his father.

The wolf in the monochrome suit was holding onto the neck of his dress coat, a massive grin crossing those white and gray furred lips. “Ah say! Ah say, son, it’s good t’sees ya.”

The two large lupines looked at each other for a few seconds before wrapping their burly arms around each other, embracing one another as they exchanged firm hugs while their noses sniffed each other’s fur.

“I missed ya too, daddy,” Hubert managed to say between squeezes.

His father chuckled as he let go. “Ah say, son, yer mudder’n’I missed ya like a Christmas with no presents.”

His son laughed happily. “I been missin’ ya like tea without the sweet!”

The two male wolves shared a laugh before George put one strong hand on Hubert’s shoulder. “Ah say, son, speakin’a sweet, yer mama says we was finally gonna meet yer sweetheart.”

The younger lupine blushed as he slowly turned his head to look down at the station wagon. He couldn’t help but let out an a-hyuck before a goofy grin crossed his lips. “Jo-sef-een’s jist right down there, daddy.”

Evie’s fur started to bristle again as she looked down the steps at the two foxes coming towards them. The alpha female of the Hemming pack’s ears started to twitch and flick about the top of her head. A scowl slowly crossed her lips while her nostrils flared to let out a huff of unease and dissatisfaction. It wasn’t that this Josephine wasn’t a pretty girl. She was. For a fox. But she wasn’t a wolf.

Her icy gaze slowly moved over to the kit next to her. Evie couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow. The kit was big, almost the size of a wolf pup. The lupine figured that, just based on his size, he must be at least eight or nine years old, maybe ten, but the way he was clinging to his mother made her worry that he might be just like Hubert.

Out of all her pups, Hubert and Bertha were her favorites, though, Hubert especially. He’d never been particularly bright, but Evie didn’t mind one bit. He was sweeter than cane sugar molasses, and never acted out like his older, twin brothers; Bart and Wilbur. Those two were a different story. They were alphas, and there were issues that came with that territory. They had an undeserved air of supremacy about them, something that drove the rest of the family up the walls. Between them believing they were of a higher intellect because both of them had gotten Doctorates in Psychology, their attempts to shed their family’s roots, and their somehow amazing ability to repel any females, the twins were slowly treading on their mother’s last few nerves. She had hoped that Hubert would have been a different story entirely, but now that was looking unlikely.

“Hmmm,” Evie let out in a low, nearly inaudible growl as she stared right at the cherry colored fox, slowly evaluating him.

George, on the other hand, was still smiling as he eased his way around Hubert to stand next to his wife, his fingers once again wrapping around the neck of his pure white coat. “Ah say, sugar plum, that vixen’s as prudy as a peach,” he said with a chuckle. The large gray wolf in the bleached suit didn’t give the other alpha a moment to reply as he slowly began to saunter down the steps.


	20. When Jo met George

Jo had noticed Hubert’s mother staring at her and her son, her ears laying flat against the top of her head. She knew she, and her son, was being evaluated by the matron of the pack. The vixen didn’t like it one bit, but she tried to not show her discomfort.

Kody, however, had no problem showing how frightened he was. The large kit pressed against his mother, his every instinct telling him to slide in behind her to use her tail as cover from that icy glare the shewolf was giving them. He’d even thought about making a run for it back to the car, but wolves were bigger and faster. They’d catch up to him long before he could get the door shut.

Luckily for the two of them, Hubert’s father eased the tension with his smiling face as he wandered down the stairs. Jo couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief as he broke Evie’s stare. George was a handsome, grandfatherly looking lupine. His fur was shaggy and sported every color of gray which contrasted nicely against his white suit. Part of her wondered if Hubert would look like that when he was that age.

“Ya must be Josephine,” the patronly wolf said as he stepped out onto the gravel driveway. His accent was thick, yet oddly melodious.

“Yessir,” Jo replied before slowly letting go of her son’s hand so she could put it out towards the large canine.

“Ah’m Hubey’s daddy, George,” he answered just before taking the vixen’s paw into his own. It wasn’t like Hubert’s paw at all. Although both were large, the son’s pads were calloused and rough from field work, and the father’s were smooth and soft from… Jo didn’t really know what Hubert’s father did. He’d never told her. She was still thinking about that when George leaned over to plant a kiss on the top of her paw, making the vixen blush.

“I.. it’s a pleasure t’meetcha, Mister Hemming,” Jo giggled softly.

“George is just fine with me, sugar plum,” the big wolf chuckled as his attention turned to the cherry red kit clinging to his mother’s leg. “And who do we have here?”

Jo slowly turned her attention to her son. “That’s m’lil’ boy, Kody. Say hello, Kody.”

The tod let out a whimpering, “H… Hello.”

The large lupine chuckled as he slowly squatted down to get closer to the young fox’s level. “How old are ya, son?”

“S… Six.”

“Six,” George howled as his eyes popped open in surprise. “Well, slap m’head’n call me silly! Ah say, son, you is the biggest six year old kit I ever dun seen. And yer the reddest one too! And I sees almost all the kits in Wolfsberg.”

Jo tilted her head. “Whaddaya mean?”

Slowly, the white suited wolf stood up. “Did my boy not tells ya Ah’m a doctah?”

The vixen blushed and shook her head. “N… no.”

George shook his head. “Ah wuddn’t git yer tail in a knot bout it. I loves m’boy, but if Hubey ever had an idear it would die of loneliness.”

Jo couldn’t help but giggle. “I knows, but he’s sweeter than cotton candy.”

“Ah knows,” the grandfatherly canine chuckled as he looked at his son’s sweetheart. “Ya loves’m, don’tcha, sugar plum.”

“Yessir.”

“Ah c’n tell. My boy’s head over tail fer ya too,” he replied before stepping aside, “Ah say! Ah say, Jo-sef-een, ain’t no reasn fer ya t’be standin’ here. Ya might’s well meet his mama. I wuddn’t worry t’much about Evie. She don’t bite. Usually.”


End file.
